Unidentified Flying Object

Also LITS, UFO, UFOlogy, UFOlogist.

Any object in the sky that can not be identified. The term ( or UFO for short ) is used primarily in reference to the phenomenon of mysterious objects, lights and craft witnessed around the world that some believe to be of extraterrestrial origin.

Types of sightings

Reports of UFOs are varied and can include typical saucer shaped metallic discs, anomalous lights, triangular shaped craft and long cigar-shaped objects. UFOs can exhibit movement or speeds unusual or impossible for conventional aircraft. Some reports recount sightings of several UFOs in formation. The more people to witness the object the more credibility the report has; reports by astronauts, airline pilots and military personnel are considered to be the most credible of all UFO sightings.

Investigations

There have been numerous official investigations in to the UFO phenomenon by governments around the world. The British Ministry of Defense maintained a UFO department up until very recently, the United States is also known to have conducted research. Thousands of pages of declassified documents released to the public have also detailed official sightings and investigations from both these countries and others.

Theories

There is little doubt that UFOs exist, however their exact natue, origins and purpose remain open to debate. A popular belief in modern culture is that UFOs are alien in origin and that we are being visited from the stars. Another belief is that at least some UFOs are top secret military aircraft utilising unfamiliar advanced technologies, a spate of triangular UFO sightings for instance was later attributed to tests of the US stealth bomber.

The vast majority of UFO sightings do turn out to be explainable, most are attributed to misidentified conventional aircraft, blimps, hot air balloons, chinese lanterns, flares and other mundane things. There are however a small percentage that remain unexplained and it is those sightings that remain the most interesting, to date the UFO phenomenon is one of the most extensively followed of all the world's unexplained mysteries.